Every day we watch videos on various platforms, but we rarely stop to think about how authentic they are. A few years ago, we wouldn’t have given this question a second thought. Videos and recordings were a faithful representation of reality. Today, however, we can no longer rely on that.
The number of ways to have fun online using apps has grown rapidly in recent years. So-called deepfakes have become very popular recently. It is a relatively new term that has been part of our vocabulary since around 2017. According to the dictionary, we can also define this term as a fake video. Deepfake is a technology based on artificial intelligence that allows us to insert our face or voice (or that of any other person) into a video. Most commonly, these are apps that can create a completely new and unique video based on a database of photos (which we provide). However, it’s not just about video apps; deepfakes can also be based on voice modulators, where such an app perfectly mimics a person’s voice based on an existing recording. As a result, it’s very difficult to distinguish reality from a fabricated deepfake. Applications capable of this are spreading across the internet, and almost anyone has access to them. As long as they were used for entertainment, their existence seemed quite innocent; however, the use of these applications has gradually become dangerous and has ceased to serve an entertainment purpose.
So, in what negative ways have deepfakes begun to be used? Primarily to create fake news. For a deepfake, it’s no problem to borrow the face and voice of any politician or celebrity, dictate what they should say and in what situation, and a new sensation is born. Such deceptive messages reach people and spread. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also fell victim to such a hoax, appearing in this video to comment on the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The president quickly responded to this fake video and called it a lie. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for example, also appeared in a similar fake video. These are not just videos spreading false news, but also those where people are “placed” in embarrassing situations, which can lead to their public humiliation. This problem does not affect only public figures; it can affect any of us.
However, deepfakes have also made their way into the business world, where company owners or executives are being deceived. Using deepfakes, scammers trick them out of money, thereby defrauding the company of significant assets. A similar case recently emerged involving a company headquartered abroad and its subsidiary in Slovakia. The scammer used a deepfake app to impersonate the company’s CEO and called the financial director at the Slovak branch. Using a voice modulator, he convinced her that he needed to carry out an important transaction in Asia and required her to send him money. After an hour-and-a-half-long conversation, the CFO eventually made the transfer. Since she had no suspicion that this was a scam, it took some time before she mentioned it to the other executive, and the investigation began. Since the money had already been sent, it was not possible to freeze it in the account. However, a certain amount was recovered from other accounts.
This case is an example of how easily scammers can use artificial intelligence to deceive and defraud business owners. This case is just one of the few we know of that have occurred. Since this technology is relatively easy to access and the method of fraud is simple, it is possible that such cases will increase in the future.
What should you do if you find yourself in such a situation?
1. Contact a lawyer—ideally one with contacts abroad, where the money was sent.
2. Contact your bank and file a “claim”; try to stop the funds while they are still in the country where you are located.
3. Contact the police.
4. Contact the FSJ (Financial Intelligence Unit)
5. Through a foreign lawyer, contact the foreign bank, which will then take steps to freeze the funds so they cannot be manipulated
6. Of course, it is necessary to file a criminal complaint in the country where the money is headed.
These steps are not a definitive guide on how to resolve your situation, but they can give you an idea of who to contact and how to proceed. Of course, caution is always paramount, which primarily involves verifying the person in question to prevent such or similar situations.
The question remains: how to avoid such situations and how to detect them(?). Deepfakes are not only a threat to businesses but can also significantly influence the community and the general public, as well as public opinion and individual views. Several companies, such as Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, have already addressed the question of how to detect deepfakes. They have created an algorithm for recognizing deepfake videos (also based on artificial intelligence). They provided this algorithm with a database of deepfake videos so that it could recognize basic features and detect fraudulent videos. The development of artificial intelligence is constantly advancing, and with that comes the concern of whether such an algorithm will remain functional indefinitely. At least when it comes to photographs, consideration is beginning to be given to a so-called hidden digital signature, which could be used to verify whether a photograph has been altered. However, many people believe that such a solution should not remain exclusively in the hands of giant platforms. In the short term, this is acceptable, but from a long-term perspective, it would be advisable to address this issue primarily through legislation. Laws regulating this area will be essential in the future. Currently, startups (such as Truepic or Deetrace) are emerging on the market, offering software to protect against deepfakes. One option would be to completely ban the use of these technologies. However, in the current situation and stage of development, this is no longer feasible.
Deepfakes also have various positive aspects and uses. They are not exclusively a tool for entertainment for the general public; video game and animated film creators, for example, can use this technology to render characters more realistically. At the same time, they can be a great tool for art. We have often seen performances by artists who are no longer alive, thanks to artificial intelligence and similar technologies. Such performances may become a reality in the future. They can also be used in healthcare, in reconstructing crime scenes, and even in the fashion industry. Their applications are truly vast and can bring great benefits, but regulation will be essential.
Development is moving inexorably forward. We see this at every turn and every single day. Deepfake videos and recordings are just proof of how far technology and the development of artificial intelligence have come—and can go. Since society is not sufficiently prepared for this type of technology (neither legally nor morally), it is essential to be cautious and verify all, or at least most, of the information that comes your way. Not everything we see and hear on the internet is necessarily real.
